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The Jax Files is an interactive, quick-hitting blog devoted to any and all things Pasco, whether whole-heartedly, tangentially or merely psychologically.

Tom Jackson:

Tom Jackson is in a 12-step program for recovering sports writers; as part of his rehabilitation, he writes a column centered on the people, politics, passions and peculiarities of Pasco County. Email

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The Jax Files: With Tom Jackson in Pasco

Pasco County News | Breaking News

The Curious Case Of The ‘Independent’ Voter

Posted Feb 27, 2009 by Tom Jackson

Updated Feb 27, 2009 at 05:28 PM

Voter statistics in Pasco County quietly passed a landmark not long ago. There are now more than 300,000 registered voters in the county, up nearly 1,700 since the close of business New Year’s Eve, 2008.

Not unexpectedly, given the glow attending the inauguration of a new president, new Democratic Party registrations have solidly outgained Republicans, 671-408, in 2009 – a 60 percent trouncing. Still, Republicans remain the county’s plurality leader, accounting for just under 39 percent of registered voters, slightly ahead of Democrats at 37.3 percent.

What should perplex both dominant parties, however – it sure perplexes me – is that voters who chose either a minor party, or no party whatsoever, outpaced Democrats and Republicans, adding 683 to the ranks of the so-called independents.

If this were a one-time statistical blip, it would be only slightly interesting. However, since 1995, the number of registered independents has surged both in raw numbers and percentage-wise, essentially tripling, to nearly 72,000; this collection of the disaffected and non-associated now accounts for nearly one in four Pasco voters.

Consider: While Republicans were adding about 32,000 voters to become the (ever-so-slightly) dominant political force in the county, the “others” category inexplicably grew by 50,000. What, arguably, is THE Pasco political story of the past decade and change remains a riddle.

I get that some folks want to belong to parties whose charters identify them as distinctly separate from the big boys. Libertarians, Greens and Constitutionalists leap to mind. What I don’t get is that people who lack either the extremist views, or the necessary passions, to affiliate with a minor party, cannot find sufficient common ground in either the Republican or Democratic parties to throw in with them.

And don’t give me that, “Well, you know, I vote for the candidate, not the party.” Come the day of the general election, that describes virtually all of us. Meanwhile, in Florida anyway, where membership thankfully still means choosing your party’s candidates, all those high-minded NPAs (no party affiliation) are both shut out of the primary elections and are the first to squawk about disenfranchisement.

So, independent voters, give it up. What motivates you to hold yourself apart from lining up with one party or another? We are in the calm between electoral storms, which is a better time than most to be thoughtful and reflective. Tell me (at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) and together we will tell readers in an upcoming column in the Pasco Tribune.